Monica Jahan Bose, a Bangladeshi -American artist is all set to hold an installation art exhibition titled “Her Words: Storytelling with Saris” using saris and video installation at the EMK Centre at Dhanmondi in the capital from today.
Monica will demonstrate the site-specific installation in collaboration with women from her ancestral village Katakhali under Patuakhali district. She is assisted by Nandita Ahmed, a New York-based Bangladeshi filmmaker, who pays her contribution in the exhibition by helping to document the project using photography and video, which will be included in the exhibition.
Monica has been working in this project for the last two years. Her introduction to art happened through painting and as an activist of environmental and women rights, she was interested in this art project when she learned that the women of Katakhali are capable of woodblock printing and she decided to work with them directly.
In “Her Words: Storytelling with Saris,” Monica collaborates with 12 women who have survived successive natural calamities, learned to read in spite of dire living conditions, adapted to climate change, and rebuilt their lives as they continue to improve their community. Through this project, Bose expanded her interest in printmaking to learn woodblock printing from the women of Katakhali. In January 2013, she traveled to Katakhali to organise writing workshops, create 24 collaborative woodblock prints on saris, and interviewed the women of Katakhali.
Monica said to the Dhaka Tribune: “I am trying to focus on climate change through the art project with the story of these 12 women, their survival and success. I wanted to demonstrate a positive image of Bangladesh to the world while every now and then Bangladesh frequently appears to have a negative image.”
Dan W Mozena, ambassador of the United States of America to Bangladesh, will be the chief guest at the inauguration session. Dr Saleemul Huq, director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development; noted art critique professor Moinuddin Khaled; Enayet Khan, chairman of Cosmos Group and Cosmos Gallery; will also attend the programme as special guests.